Chapter 10
Chapter Ten
“Rachel,” Arnie announced.
I had to physically restrain my jaw from dropping as Rachel took a step off our mat and walked over to where Arnie stood on the other mat with the rest of the guys, just twenty feet away. She looked back at me with apologetic eyes as she took her place next to him.
Trace stood on my other side and gently squeezed my arm. “It’ll be okay,” she whispered.
My shoulders slumped as Arnie continued to look anywhere but at me. I shifted my gaze to Eli, who stared at me intently. He had tried to warn me, but I hadn’t listened. He’d known this was coming.
“Wow, switching it up after such a successful challenge with Calla,” Rita announced from her spot between the mats. “Mind giving us a little insight into your choice, Arnie?”
“It’s nothing against Calla at all,” he insisted, finally meeting my eyes. “I just—I just know there isn’t anything more than friendship there.”
“And you feel more with Rachel?” Rita probed .
Arnie and Rachel both tried and failed to suppress a smile.
“I want to at least see if there’s something here,” he replied.
“And what about you, Rachel? Are you happy with your new partner?”
“I think his energy balances me out,” she said.
Rita turned to me. “And Calla, this must be a blow to you. I know you wanted to stick with Arnie.”
I sucked in a breath. If I didn’t look happy, they would zoom in on my face and try to turn this into a storyline.
“No, I’m fine. I’m glad Arnie is exploring things with Rachel.”
Rita didn’t look convinced, but she moved on.
“Eli, your pick.”
“Calla,” he said, without even a second of hesitation.
Sofia gasped from the end of the mat as I walked over to Eli. Even though I hadn’t believed him last night, I was glad he had warned me. If he hadn’t, I would have had a much harder time keeping it together right now.
When I stood next to him, he bent his head down so he could whisper closer to my ear. “I’m sorry. Arnie talked to the guys about having a crush on Rachel. I tried to tell you.” My stomach dipped at the feel of his hot breath near my face.
“I’m glad you did,” I murmured.
“This is quite the change up!” Rita exclaimed. “Two brand new couples. Eli, what led you to this decision? I’m looking at Sofia and it seems like this is coming as quite a shock to her.”
“I told her that I wanted to explore other options,” he said carefully.
“And I told you I was the best one here!” She glared at the two of us, her sharp features making her appear all the more intimidating .
Rita whistled. “Seems like this was not a mutual decision.”
Sofia pressed her lips into a thin line. “It’s his loss. He’ll regret it soon enough.”
“And why did you pick Calla?” Rita asked.
Eli glanced down at me. “There’s something here.”
I pretended thousands of butterflies hadn’t just taken flight in my stomach.
“Do you agree with that, Calla?”
I froze, remembering that everyone would be watching my response. I didn’t want to seem either cold or eager. Play it cool.
“Maybe,” I said, praying she’d move on to the next pick.
Thankfully, she did. Danny picked Trace. Then, by default, Grant selected Sofia, who continued to sulk.
Realistically, Grant and Sofia might be the best matches for each other, so I wasn’t sure why she was fighting it so hard. Maybe he came off as a little bit insufferable, but he was attractive. I hated to call them both shallow, but it did seem like they shared a lot of the same priorities.
Rita walked away after the selection was over and Robert stepped in, followed by a few other staff members from the lodge. He held up a safety harness.
“Alright! How do you all feel about heights?”
“I don’t think I can do this,” I said through quick and shallow breaths.
“You’ve been doing great so far,” Eli insisted, ducking his head so that we were at eye level.
We stood about twenty feet off the ground, clinging to a wooden platform built into a tree. Well, I was clinging. Eli stood there nonchalantly, completely unaffected by the fact that only a thin cord kept us from tumbling to our deaths.
It turned out that the best way to test our trust in each other in this idiotic alternate universe was to complete a high ropes course.
“I’ve only been doing great so far because we were only six feet off the ground! This is too much, and we still have to go higher.”
“Hey, just breathe.” Eli placed a hand on the back of my neck, trying to ground me. I flinched at the touch and he quickly dropped it. “Shit, sorry. I’m just trying to help you calm down. Look at me, Calla.”
I sealed my mouth shut and inhaled deeply through my nose before letting out an audible exhale.
“Let’s just take a moment and forget where we are. When you’ve calmed down, we can try to move on.”
“But we have to hurry,” I protested.
“Says who?”
“Said the show. We’re being timed.”
Eli just shrugged as if he had forgotten all about the challenge. “Who cares? We’ll get it done when we get it done.”
Something about his casual attitude had already started to calm me.
“You’re scared of heights, huh? I’m glad we’re getting this out of the way early on.” Eli smiled down at me. “I promise, no elaborate helicopter dates in the future.”
“I’m not scared of heights,” I argued.
Eli’s shoulders shook with laughter. “Your panicked expression says otherwise.”
“I’m not!” I insisted. “But this—” I gestured to the thin rope that was attached to my harness. “This is giving me absolutely no confidence that this is safe. I doubt this could even support my weight. ”
“Calla,” Eli said in the same voice I would expect a kindergarten teacher to use with a student. “I’m sure it’s safe. Countless people have gone across this same exact maze. This cord” —he reached over and pulled on mine— “is secure. You’re not going to fall. You’re psyching yourself out right now.”
“What if they just built it for us,” I argued.
Eli pointed to one of the platforms. “And what? Chipped the paint just for us too, to make it seem more authentic? We’re at a lodge in Montana. They have a high ropes course for guests, just like I’m sure they have countless other outdoor activities.”
I glared at him. “Why are you being so sensible when I’m trying to panic?”
Eli grinned and winked at me. “Is that your way of saying we make a great team?”
While I still wasn’t in love with our current predicament, Eli had provided me with enough encouragement to move forward. The next portion of the course contained disc platforms that hung from a rope running above us. Each one moved violently when I stepped on it.
“You’ve got this, Calla. Don’t look down,” Eli instructed from right behind me.
My feet kept moving forward as my body was jerked around, grabbing onto each rope to steady myself. This part of the course was so physically demanding that I almost forgot that we were suspended in the air. When I reached the next platform, I spun around to offer Eli a high five.
“We did it!” I exclaimed.
His lip curled up and his dimple started to show as he held up his large hand to meet my gesture. I smacked it before turning to face what was next. This was actually kind of fun now that I wasn’t terrified for my life .
We breezed through the next portion—a rickety staircase—before arriving at some sort of rope balance beam. I studied it warily. The only thing we’d have to stand on as we navigated ourselves across a thirty-foot gap was a thin piece of rope.
I compared my foot’s width to what we’d be walking on.
“Nope. Forfeit,” I said, backing up a step.
“Calla.” Eli’s voice exuded patience. “You just crushed the last section. This one is no different.”
“Do you see what they expect us to step on?” I pointed to the rope. He must have lost his mind if he thought I’d be putting my life on that particular line.
“We’ll hardly have to balance since we’re connected from the top.” He pulled on my safety line to show me how secure I was. “Even if you waver, you’ll just stumble slightly, given how taut this is. You won’t fall. I won’t let you.”
I stood there, arms crossed, and stared at him.
Eli rubbed the back of his neck. There wasn’t much of a rush to finish, honestly, since both Trace and Danny, and Sofia and Grant, had already failed to complete the course. Sofia had tapped out before the second obstacle, and Danny practically carried Trace through half the course before she finally gave up, giggling the whole time.
“I won’t let you fall, okay? Do you trust me?” Eli’s eyes searched mine.
Did I trust him? I hardly knew him. But I also felt confidence in what he said—that he wouldn’t let me fall.
I gave a halfhearted answer. “It’s about that thin rope, not you.”
“Come on. This is the last obstacle before the finish. I know you can do it,” he said. “Don’t take the easy way out.”
“ Easy way out? ” I wanted to laugh. “I’m already partnered with you, remember? The easy way out left the building as soon as that happened. ”
“Let’s go, then.” Eli grasped my wrist lightly. “I’ve got you.”
With shaking hands, I turned to face the next leg of the course. I forced myself not to look down as I placed one foot on the thin lower rope and grabbed the top rope with both hands.
“That’s it, Calla. I’m right behind you.” I felt the whisper of one of his hands around my waist, not quite touching me but ready to stabilize me if necessary. I slowly moved forward, one foot sliding along the rope, followed by my front hand. Once I got going, it seemed easy enough. When I reached the other side, I placed one foot carefully on the platform before leaning my body forward and hopping onto it with my other foot. I looked back to see Eli stepping through the course with ease. He landed gracefully on the platform beside me.
“You did it. I knew you could.”
“Thank God it’s over.” I let out a sigh of relief.
“We still have to get down.” Eli pointed ahead to a zip line that would take us halfway across the field.
“Nope, I’m done.”
Eli’s lips parted slightly. “You can’t be done. This is the way down.”
I shook my head stubbornly. “I’m not doing that.”
“But this is the easy part,” Eli argued. “Are you really going to backtrack through the entire course instead? Because I think that’s your only other option.”
“We’re, like, one hundred feet up here. You can’t seriously expect me to careen down that thing.” My pulse quickened and I could feel the sweat forming on my palms.
“You kind of have to,” Eli said, fighting exasperation.
A sharp pain in my chest caused me to grab at my heart and press firmly down .
“I feel trapped,” I whispered as black dots lined my vision, and I resisted the urge to sit down.
Eli moved closer as if worried he might have to catch me. “Hey, just breathe. This is the last step. You just have to cruise on down this and you’re done.”
I felt stuck in place from my lack of options. He was right. I should just fasten my harness onto the thing and get it over with.
“I can’t,” I said.
Eli hesitantly placed a hand on my shoulder. It felt nice, like it was tethering me to the present. “We’ve got this, okay? We’ll be side by side on this thing. You can look at me the whole way down, and it’ll be over before you know it.”
Despite my lightheadedness, I moved closer to the edge of the platform. Eli wordlessly stepped in beside me, grabbed the hook on my harness, and secured it onto the zip line. He tugged a few times to make sure I was connected.
“Don’t forget about your glove.” Eli pointed to my right hand. “Remember what Robert said. Let yourself go with your feet up, but if you really need to slow down, use the glove—and only the glove—to press down lightly on your rope.”
I vaguely remembered some of these instructions from the quick safety briefing earlier, but I had barely been paying attention to it. All of my concentration had been taken up by the fact that Arnie had chosen Rachel and now I was with Eli.
“Did you get all that?” Eli asked.
Blinking rapidly, I tried to remember everything he’d said. Pull down to go slower. Cross my ankles.
I opened my mouth to speak, but my chest tightened and no words came out.
Eli scrutinized me closely. “We’ll be at the bottom in a few seconds and it’ll be over. ”
My brain felt incapable of comprehension at the moment, so I just gave a jerky nod.
Eli looked down toward the zip line and then back at me, appearing uncertain. “Let’s just get down, okay? Just close your eyes if you have to and breathe. I’ll be right next to you.”
He moved away from me reluctantly and clipped himself onto the other line. “We just have to take a few steps forward now and step off the platform. Can you do that?”
My body felt completely immobilized. My feet might as well have been trapped in lead.
“Shit,” Eli said under his breath. Something in the back of my mind told me he likely regretted selecting me as a partner.
“I’m going to hold your hand and tug you forward,” he instructed.
I felt his strong grip on my hand. It grounded me slightly as he pulled me toward the edge. My heartbeat raced faster the closer we got.
“Three. Two. One.” Eli counted down slowly as he tugged me toward the edge. Suddenly, I was free-falling.
Wind zipped past my face and I could barely take in my surroundings. My vision blurred again.
Too fast. This was way too fast. I panicked and reached up to press down on the rope. I tried to grip it in my haste to slow down, but a sharp burning sensation set my hand on fire as soon as I made contact.
I screamed and withdrew my hand. The pain caused the rest of my body’s senses to finally simmer down as all my focus moved to my throbbing hand.
The ground rushed closer and closer. I lifted my feet up like Eli had told me to as we approached the end. Workers and the crew were there to meet us. Someone caught me and helped me unstrap.
Eli arrived a moment behind me .
“Are you okay?” he asked, panicked. “Why did you scream like that?”
The worker who had helped me stop, looked down at my raw left hand.
“We need a medic.”
“I’m so sorry,” Eli repeated for what must have been the hundredth time.
“It’s not your fault,” I said again, cradling my bandaged hand.
We were in a room that reminded me of a high school nurse’s office. I sat on a cot while Eli hovered over me. The medic had already treated my rope burn and wrapped it up, but she had told me to stay there as long as I wanted to recover from the mild panic attack. Eli had offered to leave, but the set of his jaw informed me that he really didn’t want to.
“I shouldn’t have pushed you so hard.” He raked his fingers through his hair and paced the room. “We should have backed out as soon as you wanted to. I forced us through, and for what? Some stupid game show? I should have listened to you.”
I thought about how expertly he had calmed me during the beginning of the course. How I had been able to compartmentalize my fear and move forward.
“Maybe it was a good thing,” I said, staring at the floor. “I’ve always been the kind of person to back out of something as soon as I was scared.”
Eli appeared unconvinced. I distracted myself by playing with the crinkled paper layer covering the cot.
“One time when we were kids, my mom tried to take my sister and I to the top of a skyscraper. I was terrified as soon as we got off the elevator. I just waited in the middle of the room, away from all the windows, while they enjoyed the view. As soon as we got down, I regretted not looking.”
“That’s different. You can’t get injured walking around a building,” Eli said. “I could tell you were panicking and I just shoved you off the edge. This is my fault.”
“It’s not,” I insisted more forcefully. I scooted over on the cot and patted the spot next to me. Eli sat down carefully. “You got me down. That was what I needed. What if I had just been stuck up there panicking for hours? It was only going to get worse.”
“If I had given you the time you needed, you wouldn’t have hurt your hand.” He reached out and brushed the bandage with his thumb. He had been stealing little touches here and there, and I didn’t mind it. I almost looked forward to it.
“If I had listened to you about which hand to use, then I wouldn’t have gotten hurt,” I said.
“I could tell you were in no place to hear instructions and I went on with it anyway. I just wanted to get you down as fast as possible. I didn’t even consider that you could get hurt.”
It seemed there was no convincing Eli that my injury was no one’s fault. We sat in silence for a few moments before my lip curved up.
“Bet you regret picking me for a partner,” I joked, only half kidding.
“Not even a little,” he said immediately. Finally, after a few more seconds, he chuckled. “Although I definitely don’t see many extreme sports in our future.”
Grinning, I looked back at him. “I could have told you that the first day. I like books. And shutting myself in a room for hours to write. If you want someone outdoorsy or adventurous, I’m not your girl.”
He leaned closer. “Good thing I don't care about those things.”
His proximity had my head spinning.
“So, what do you want?” I asked bluntly.
Eli’s eyes widened, clearly caught off guard by my question. “What do you mean?” he asked.
“You thought you’d be here to act in a movie, yet you seem totally unfazed about the change of direction. I would have thought you might be angrier, or something, but you seem pretty resigned to this whole process.”
“I guess I felt like it was pointless to fight it. My dad was right, I do have a shitty reputation. I never really cared much about it before, but now...” He studied my expression. “Now, I’m realizing maybe I should have cared more. I want people to take me seriously.”
“With your script?” I pressed.
He narrowed his eyes. “Sure, that to start.”
A loud knock interrupted my train of thought before Brady burst into the small room.
“There you two are! Hurry up and get changed; we have something special planned for this evening.”